


Time Limited Love

by SilverHalos88



Series: Time Limited Love [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Asteroid - Freeform, Established Relationship, F/M, Gen, Science Fiction, Space Station, The TARDIS - Freeform, The Vault (Doctor Who), Time Travel, market, minor Koschei (Doctor Who), minor Theta (Doctor Who), triple star system, twissy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:54:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28697283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverHalos88/pseuds/SilverHalos88
Summary: After spending decades trying to change Missy from her dark ways, The Doctor finds himself changed too. Now deeply in love, the pair have finally found the most unlikely of happinesses. However, all is not well, and The Doctor carries the weight of a terrible knowledge. Time comes for all things in the end, but that doesn't mean you have to lay down and accept it...This work was largely inspired by the work of a friend of mine, Cherrypie55. Her work is fantastic and you should totally check it out if you like this! Also this was originally a one off, but I feel like I'm going to be returning to this at some point... ;)
Relationships: Twelfth Doctor/Missy
Series: Time Limited Love [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2103555
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Time Limited Love

It was a strange place, all things considered. The room could have shaped itself to be anything, given the space in the basement of St Luke’s University. Previously, the space had been little more than a forgotten storage area, fit only for left over exam desks from a past era and a maze of cobwebs. That had all changed when the quantum fold chamber had deployed itself. The reinforced nano hyperoid matrix had wrapped around the room in minutes, building thick walls of dead-locked tiatubax steel while also anchoring itself into every strong structure it could find. Some of its roots extended down into the very bedrock far beneath the city, while the walls themselves could stand up to even the most fearsome orbital bombardment. The chamber was as safe a place as any on the planet, so why it decided to design itself as a sparsely filled room with fake windows and artificial wooden panelling was anyone’s guess. It didn’t matter though.  
The Vault would be just as strong no matter what it looked like.  
It felt colder today than normal. Outside, winter was well underway, but that shouldn’t have been an issue here. Then again, she had always liked it cold, or at this version of her had. It wasn’t quite see-your-own-breath levels of chilly, but it wasn’t far off, and the few radiator panels hidden beneath the floor did little to help improve the situation. At least they didn’t need slippers, though he couldn’t help but wonder how long it would be before the cold get the better of them. Even Timelords had their limits.  
With a long, satisfying yawn, The Doctor stretched his arms, then repositioned himself so that he was sitting upright on the bed, his back resting against the bare metal frame of the simple bed. He tugged at the worn, almost raggedy, night shirt that had become his constant companion whenever he slept here, freeing it from beneath himself. His vault outfit, as it had become known, was rounded out by some loose jogging bottoms and a fluffy blue dressing gown that was currently resting on the back of a chair sitting off to one side of the bed. For a second he considered grabbing the gown, but thought better of it. He didn’t want to disturb sleeping beauty. A smile crossed The Doctor’s face, and he turned onto his side. He reached out and gently pulled back the cover.  
Even when she was asleep, Missy still seemed like she was coming up with some devious, ingenious plot. It made her seem no less beautiful though.  
With his hearts threatening to skip beats, he reached over to her and gently brushed away a strand of hair that had fallen across her face, then let his fingers idly play with the thick black curls that spread wildly over her pillow.  
How had it come to this?  
For close to a century he had been coming to this room. Even for a Timelord, that could be a long time. Longer still when you had to spend it locked in a room. It gave a person a lot of time to think, to consider all the actions that had led to that point, and maybe even to change. That had been The Doctor’s hope when he had imprisoned Missy here, when he had taken the vow to watch over her for a thousand years. He had never expected how much he would change though. Tragedy had a way altering the way a person viewed things. It had begun long ago of course, a background feeling that he’d always managed to bury. But there was only so long he could say goodbye, only so long he could watch people he cared for die, before it took a toll. Each one had changed him in some way, chipped away at that certain nerve until it was raw and exposed, waiting for that final push which would be too much. That was the only way he could explain it, he had figured, the reason for the gap. Clara. All he had was a name and a handful of images that were little more than whispers in the dark, powerless to fill the void that now sat in the center of his mind. If she was a companion and he had lost her, what had he done that had required such extreme measures as an almost complete memory wipe? What had he become? That question haunted him. Maybe one day he’d find answers for that, but the whole ordeal had left him with a new realisation, one that had been long in coming.  
He didn’t want to lose anyone else. He couldn’t.  
That’s how it had begun with Missy. Their relationship had always been complicated, but even when she’d been trying to kill him, he had always considered her to be his friend. His best friend. Whatever form she had been in, whatever body or face or mind, she had always been there. She had always come back. Sure, her returns were often marked by swirling vortexes of death, deceit and mayhem, but those were just details in the long run. Details… the word sat in his mind long after he had thought it, a sour taste seeping from it, and he found himself face to face with a wave of guilt. Those were people, he had to remind himself, innocent people who had been hurt by her actions, sometimes hurt in ways that they could never come back from. And now here he was, willing to look past it because she had earned that chance. Or maybe that was just what she had wanted him to think…  
“Oh darling do be quiet, I can practically hear you spiralling from here.” Missy said as she flickered her eyes open. She stared up at him, a look that was as dark as it was endearing. She had been awake for only a moment and already she was back in her grove, straddling the point between deadly and delightful, between creepily cunning and charmingly charismatic. She was an enigma for the ages, and that was just one of the reasons he found himself in love with her.  
“I’m sorry if I woke you.” He said simply, still stroking her hair.  
“So you should be. One doesn’t get to be as fabulous as this without one’s beauty sleep you know.” She said, fixing him with a dark glare. But then the mask slipped and a wide smile crept over her face. He returned the gesture without even thinking.  
“You always look incredible.” The Doctor watched as she kicked off the covers and sat up in the bed, then shock her head wildly. By the time she was done her hair was gigantic mess, making her look like a cross between a witch and a mythical Medusa.  
“Still incredible?” She asked playfully.  
“Even more so.” He replied.  
“Oh shut up you old fool.” She said as she half-heartedly threw one of her pillows at him. He easily deflected it away, then watched as she stretched. The sleeves of the oversized hoodie she wore swung loosely in the air as she held her arms above her head.  
“You’re just as old, you know.” He knew it was going to get him into trouble, but he couldn’t resist. Almost instantly she leapt at him, grabbing his shoulders and pinning him against the bed as she leant on his chest. She put her head in front of his, her eyes burning with an anger that might actually have been real.  
“Do you know how many ways I could kill you right now?” She said, an edge in her voice. The Doctor met her gaze.  
“Oh I’m sure I couldn’t match your imagination for murder and death. But if you killed me I couldn’t do this.” He said, then leaned forward and kissed her. His lips pressed against hers, matching so perfectly it was as if they were made to fit them. Missy tensed for a second, her eyes going wide. But then she relaxed and kissed him back, collapsing into him in way she never would have thought possible. But this was the vault of impossibilities, and she’d long since given up trying to predict them all. After a long, precious few moments she pulled back.  
“That’s not fair.” She said, her voice nothing more than a silky seductive whisper.  
“That’s why you love it.” The Doctor said, matching her tone. She looked at him and smiled again, that rare and wonderous smile that was nothing but true bliss and one few ever saw. She then collapsed down on to him, cuddling up to his shoulder.  
“So, where are we heading today?” She asked, wrapping her arm with its too-long sleeve around his waist as she draped a leg over his.  
“Where else?” He said as he held her tight, their two heartbeats thumping rhythmically in sync with each other. “To the stars, Missy. To the stars.”

In all the possible choices and all the possible timelines, it was fair to say that The Doctor had never seen this one coming. Maybe that was why it had taken so long. In many ways he and Missy were complete opposites, but that was only if you looked at the surface. Deeper down, they had always shared a connection that was hard to fathom, and harder to deny. It had taken decades of her confinement before he had gotten to the point where he could even consider that. But once he had, it was like pulling the first stone from a dam. The story of how they had finally connected was one that had been told over decades, and could fill every page of River’s blue book, but he found himself not wanting to change a minute of it. Every second had led them to this point, every precious moment that had shaped who they were, even the bad ones. Especially the bad ones. In the end it had come down to one simple truth: He didn’t want to be without her.  
And that was exactly what was worrying him.  
With her arm wrapped around his, the two idly walked along the false cobblestone path as it weaved through the market. All around them, countless stands were filled with all kinds of items from dozens of different galaxies, and so many different species filled the area it would be rare to see more than a handful in any one spot. Built on a vast series of asteroids held together by immense gravity tethers, Needlepoint Rock was an ancient space station that had existed for tens of thousands of years. It orbited the only stars for a million lightyears and sat at a junction between hundreds of different space lanes, making it the ideal trading station for countless worlds. The space above the market, one of fifty spread out across the asteroids, was filled with so many ships arriving and departing that the bright orange light of the trio of stars at the core of the system was often reduced to nothing more than a pleasant warm glow that flickered harmlessly over the energy shield that held in the atmosphere.  
“We should put on some music.” Missy said as she idly watched the crowds around them.  
“Hmmm?” The Doctor said, still lost in his own thoughts.  
“Its like a ballet, watching them all scurrying to find that special something.” She said, flicking her wrist as if she were conducting the movements of the crowd.  
“Ah yes, very amusing.” The Doctor said, barely hearing what she had said. Missy glared at him for a moment, but didn’t say anything. Instead she tugged on his arm and nodded to one of the stalls.  
“What’s the point of coming all this way if we don’t get a few souvenirs? Come on, treat a girl to a gift or two.” She said, pulling him over to the nearest stall before he had a chance to protest. Shouldering her way past a blue, whale like alien that was twice her size, Missy quickly went about browsing the collection of the shiny metallic knickknacks. The Doctor quickly scanned them. They were mostly low-level sensor boosters and emitters, though a few of the devices had exorium crystalline cores that were vibrating in the Z9-2 range, something that was exceedingly rare in this part of the universe. It was likely the merchant didn’t know what he had. Or maybe he did.  
“I don’t think I like your attitude. I think I might pluck your feathers and use them as toothpicks.” Missy said, the threat catching The Doctor’s attention. He had missed the first part of the interaction, but clearly Missy had made an offer the merchant didn’t like.  
“And I don’t like your insinuations. My merchandise is top notch and all accounted for. Not a stolen thing here, no ma’am, and there’s no way a plucked-plume like you is a market inspector.” The merchant squawked, a humanoid alien with many bird like features. Missy’s eyes narrowed. The TARDIS translation circuits has edited out the insult as best they could, but there was no mistaking the meaning behind the words. Missy tilted her head from side to side. To anyone else it would look like she was just trying to think of something to say, but The Doctor knew better; it was like watching a cobra hypnotise its prey as it readied a strike.  
“Tell me, buzzard boy, do you think you’ll go better with hot sauce or a salad? Or maybe both? We could start a new food trend! Well, I could.” She said as she took a step forward, gently placing her palms on the stand as her eyes darted from one component to another, a plan forming in her mind. On the opposite side of the stall, the feathers around the merchant’s face flashed a bright shade of purple – of signal of fear for his species. He turned to the blue whale alien and nodded. The being, clearly some kind of enforcer or bodyguard for the stall turned and stared down at Missy, its pupil-less orange eyes narrowing as it crossed one set of arms while flexing the second. Missy glanced up at him.  
“Oh joy, we can add seafood to the menu!” She said with a dark, delighted squeal. The enforcer took a step forward.  
“I do apologize, where are my manners?” The Doctor said quickly as he stepped between Missy and the enforcer, making sure his back was to the later so he could keep her in his vision at all times. He reached into his coat, pulled something out and flashed it at the merchant. “We are indeed market inspectors, yes. Um… Well done, you passed the test! We were in the area seeing how aware people were of fake market inspectors trying to grab free items. You passed with flying colours! I’ll make sure this goes in our report. You should see a fifteen percent reduction in your pitch fees for a month. Isn’t that nice?” The Doctor said, pulling back the psychic paper before the merchant could get a better look at it. He then grabbed Missy’s hand and pulled her away from the stand. There was a reluctance there, but she allowed him to lead her. That in itself spoke volumes. “Come along, many other stalls to inspect.”  
“Yeah get out of here. How did bloody smooth-skins like you two ever become inspectors anyway? You should stay with your own kind and leave us decent folk to our business!” The merchant called after them, seemingly not caring who else heard his rant. The pair had to take almost twenty steps before Missy finally turned her head away, though the death glare she had been shooting at the merchant would take a lot longer to fade from his memory. The Doctor nodded to a nearby picnic-like area off to one side of the part of the market they were in. A few steps later and they were sitting down at a table in the shade of a large tree that had brilliant orange and blue leaves that shimmered in the light as the breezed played with them. It was a sight that Missy didn’t seem to care for.  
“You’re so boring.” She scalded him, her annoyance on the verge of true anger.  
“You were trying to steal something Missy.” The Doctor said quietly, clasping his hands together as he rested his elbows on the table.  
“Oh please. That dimwit barely knew what he had. I was doing him a favour, really. He might have hurt someone if those crystals ruptured. He should thank me honestly.” She said with a roll of her eyes.  
“Thank you for not making a scene.” Missy shrugged her shoulders at The Doctor’s remark, though her face was still filled with annoyance.  
“Pfft. Not worth my time. Though I’m surprised you have nothing to say. He had quite the racial superiority complex if you hadn’t notice. You could practically taste it on him.” She said, biting at the air as she smiled. The Doctor’s eyes turned to a shade of mischief, one that caught Missy’s attention instantly. He looked back at the stand on the other side of the market. The large whale like alien was busy forcing another group of aliens away as the merchant made offensive gestures at them. The Doctor reached inside his coat and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. Stealthily, he pointed the device at the stand and pressed the button.  
It only took a moment for the sonic frequencies to zap across the short distance and fry the circuits of all the devices on the merchant’s stand. One by one, showers of sparks shot out of the devices as they overload in spectacularly dramatic fashion. Soon they were jumping up and popping about all over the place creating a terrible racket that caused all those who were passing to stop and stare. The merchant and his large enforcer were powerless to do anything even as they run their hands over the stand trying to stop the devices. In the end all that was left were plumes of smoke and charred scraps, with the merchant left wide eyed and befuddled.  
“Maybe the complete loss of his stock will make him rethink his ways.” The Doctor said with an impish grin. Missy smiled.  
“Well, not all his stock.” She said as she patted the side of her dress. “You’re not the only one with deep pockets my dear.”  
“You didn’t!” Doctor gasped. Missy shrugged.  
“No one here was going to make proper use of them, stop your worrying. I’ll build you something nice, something that flashes and whirs. You like stuff like that.” She said as she felt the half dozen devices with the exorium crystals tucked safely away. It had been practically too easy to swipe them in the end. The Doctor rolled his eyes, then smiled as she gave him a cheeky wink.  
“Just don’t make anything that explodes. You’re still on probation, technically.” He said, trying not to lose himself in the dark sparkle that filled Missy’s eyes.  
“Aw, where’s the fun in that.” She said, exaggerating her pout. The Doctor smiled at her again, then looked away, disappearing back into his thoughts.  
Missy stared at him for a long moment, her playful expression falling from her face. He had been acting strange the moment they had entered his TARDIS this morning. To be fair, strange was his comfort zone, but she knew this was different from his normal antics. Something important was on his mind, something that was troubling him. He should have at least been more concerned about the crystals. They had both changed in their time together, much more than either of them was ever really willing to admit, and despite their new found trust for each other, there were still some things that always raised at least a bit of alarm. Potentially high explosives should have at least been on the ‘stern talking to’ list. Her mind raced with what it could be and how to approach the subject, but then she cursed herself for over thinking it.  
“Alright, out with it already. You’ve been moodier than a cat that’s had its mouse taken away. What’s going on?” She said, using the tried and tested direct approach. She’d never been one for subtly, even in her other regenerations. The Doctor looked at her.  
“Its nothing, really.” He said. He should have known better. Missy glared at him.  
“Do not lie to me. You wouldn’t want me to put you over my knee and spank your wee bottom now in front of all those people, would you?” She said using her strongest Scottish accent. She had to bite her lip to stop herself from adding in some inuendo. Later, she promised herself.  
The Doctor let out a long, heavy sigh. He looked around at the market and the people walking idly by, then up at the countless shadows passing overhead, as if he might find the answer he had been looking for if only he could search a bit longer.  
“I’m worried.” He said.  
“Yes I think that’s fairly obvious.” Missy said sharply. “Come on, get to the point. Don’t make me drag it out of you. Or spank it out, whatever sir might prefer.” The Doctor laughed a little, but the serious look still remained firmly planted on his face.  
“Time is running out. And I don’t know how to stop it.” He said, finally giving voice to thoughts that had been plaguing him for a while now. A look of urgency came over Missy.  
“What? Time is running out?! Whatever shall we do, collect the latest human tag alongs, summon a fleet of daleks, go burn up a star?” She said dramatically. “You’ve got a TARDIS, time is the one thing we have plenty of. Stop being silly.”  
“That’s not what I mean.” He said, his frown growing deeper as the shutters started to fall back in place. Missy let out an exaggerate sigh before turning serious.  
“Ok fine. Tell me what you mean.” She said, the concern in her voice surprising both of them a little.  
“We’ve struggled for so long to get to this point, to be able to see each other without it being strange or dangerous. And I don’t want to lose that. I can’t, not again. Not you.”  
“Well technically you’re still my warden. And you are a stickler for the rules. I can’t see you going away anytime soon.” Missy said. The Doctor knew she was trying to reassure him in her roundabout way, but she still didn’t understand.  
“It may not be our choice, Koschei.” The Doctor said, using a name that carried the weight of a mountain, a name that struck right to Missy’s hearts. He gestured to the sky above. “We’re out there, right now. We’re off exploring the stars in this very time period. I know. I cheated, you see. You would have been very proud. I peaked ahead, not much, but just enough to know that there is a next for us, another face waiting to step out of the shadows and go striding away. Lots of faces actually, lots of me’s and lots of you’s darting all over history.”  
“There’s always another us.” Missy jumped in, but The Doctor shook his head.  
“No, not like us. What you and I have, what we are, its unique. It’s so close to an impossibility that there are subatomic quantum events more likely to happen than whatever it is that we have. And that led to a question, a terrifying question that I can’t bear to face.”  
“What’s the question, Doctor?” Missy asked, but in her mind she already knew.  
“What if the next us don’t have what we have? What if it dies when we do? What if this is it, the last days of a dying star? I can feel it Missy, I can feel it racing towards us even now. Change is coming, a horrible painful change that will alter everything, and I feel powerless to do anything about it.” The Doctor growled, struggling to keep his voice down as he slammed his hands on the table. He dropped his head down, letting heavy eyelids slip close over eyes that at times felt like they had seen too much. In that moment, all he wanted was to dive into the darkness, to hide away from the inevitable.  
“I can’t stop it. I, I can’t save you.” He whispered, the words as painful to say as they were to carry with him in his mind.  
That was the moment he felt someone grab his hand.  
“You don’t have to.” Missy said as he looked up at her. She squeezed his hand. “We’ll do it together.”  
“Missy, I...” Before he could finish Missy reached out a finger and placed it on his lips. A strange smile crossed her face, one that was both dark and caring, scary but full of empathy.  
“Quiet now, my grumpy old boy. You’ve always been clever, but lets be honest, you get lucky half the time, maybe even most of the time. Well, no more. Now you’ve got a full on, one hundred precent super genius by your side. We’ll be able to figure out anything. Together.” Missy said, leaning across the table and taking his other hand. “We’ll do it together, Doctor. Always together.”  
There was nothing else to be said. The Doctor and Missy stared at each other for a long moment as the world continued by without them, like they were lost in their own space, their own world. In many ways they were, sharing thoughts and feelings that went beyond any physical expression, saying more than anything their words ever could. It was a long time before they finally got up and left, disappearing into the still-and-always crowded market as they slowly made their way back to the TARDIS, already coming up with plan after plan to challenge the inevitability of time.  
They never saw the figure stepping out of the shadows, watching them every step of the way.


End file.
